BUREAU OF BIOLOGICAL SURVEY. 669 



One of the most useful activities of this section of the survey is 

 the identification of birds and mammals sent from public institu- 

 tions and from individuals engaged in studying them and their re- 

 lations to agriculture throughout the country. 



Cooperation in the biological survey of the Canal Zone being con- 

 ducted by joint cooperation of the Smithsonian Institution, Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, and War Department continues, and a valuable 

 collection of birds and mammals is being secured, with more valuable 

 data on habits and distribution. 



The summer and fall of 1911 E. W. Nelson continued the biological 

 survey of Arizona and made a special effort to secure accurate in- 

 formation concerning the big game resources of that State. A trip 

 was made in the fall in southern California to secure information 

 concerning the distribution and abundance of ground squirrels and 

 to ascertain how successful had been the efforts of the State authori- 

 ties to exterminate them. Work was continued on the report upon 

 Lower California, which nears completion. 



A vast amount of information concerning the bird and mammal life 

 of the United States has been gathered by this section, and this is 

 of great value in connection with the efforts l^eing made to protect 

 and encourage useful and harmless species and to eliminate injurious 

 ones. 



IMPORTATIONS. 



Supervision of the importation of birds and other animals required 

 by law has been maintained, and 583 permits were issued and 140 

 consigJiments inspected by the regular inspectors of the Biological 

 Survey stationed at New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, as 

 compared with .519 permits and 123 inspections in 1911. Under these 

 permits there have been imported 428,269 birds and 4.582 mammals. 

 Of these birds there were 338.275 canaries, 15,409 pheasants, 23,181 

 partridges, 11,353 miscellaneous game birds, and 40,051 miscellaneous 

 nongame birds. Besides these, 28,808 birds and 875 mammals requir- 

 ing no permits were admitted to entry, making a total of 3G2,G04 ca- 

 naries, 15,412 pheasants, 23,181 partridges, 11,493 miscellaneous game 

 birds, 44,387 nongame birds, and 5,457 mammals. Fifty-five per- 

 mits were issued at Honolulu covering the entry of 124 birds, 17 

 mammals, and 10 reptiles. 



Among the birds were 23,181 European partridges, as compared 

 with 30,507 in 1911. This bird has not proved as popular as it did 

 several years ago, and has been purchased in smaller numbers by 

 State commissions and private individuals. The importation of 

 quail from Mexico reached 7,570, as compared with 3.110 in 1911 

 and 1,246 in 1910. This number might have been much larger but 

 for the suspension in the issue of permits early in February owing 

 to an outbreak of the highly infectious quail disease in the South- 

 west and the practical cessation of all interstate shipments of quail 

 after that date. Among the rarer waterfowl were some 250 For- 

 mosan leal. These birds were first imported into the I"^nited States 

 in 1909, but the number brought in during the past fiscal year con- 

 siderably exceeds that of preceding years. Interesting also was a 

 shipment of 16 California valley quail, imported from Austria. 

 These birds, like wood ducks and other native species, have been sent 



